Unanswered
by EtherealDemon
Summary: After the sacrifice Damon up and leaves without a word to anyone. Elena ends up having a relationship with his voice-mail since he never picks up... but is he listening?   Three Parts
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Don't profit or own; please don't sue.

**Summary:** After the sacrifice Damon up and leaves without a word to anyone. Elena ends up having a relationship with his voice-mail since he never picks up... but is he listening?

**AN:** This is a bit of an experiment for me. At first I thought this would be a three part ficlet, but it turns out there are only two. I hope you enjoy... at least I had fun writing it.

oOo

**Unanswered**

oOo

**Evading Elena**

oOo

It all started innocently enough a week after _everything,_ she still hadn't caught a single glimpse of him. As her mind started a journey it couldn't stop causing worries to bubble inside her and multiply she did what she'd always done when that feeling struck her; she called _him._ With each unanswered ring the worry rose and bubbled threatening to choke her from the inside.

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore. State your business."**_

_***BEEP***_

Elena let out an annoyed guttural noise not far from a grunt or whine, but not quite either. "Where are you Damon?" She sighed defeatedly and hung her head "Please just let me know that you're OK; that you aren't dead in a ditch somewhere. I..." She rubbed her eyes tiredly wishing he would have picked up so she could yell at him properly for disappearing without a trace. "Call me. Call someone Damon... anyone. Just let me know that you're alive and well."

She dejectedly hung up hoping that her phone would ring any second; his name flashing on her phone. It didn't. Like most nights after _that_ fateful night she slept fitfully as her nightmares plagued her.

_The unrestricted fear running rampant through her caused her to tremble and her jaw to tighten and clench. Her skin felt slick from her own blood that currently seeped relentlessly from the deep painful gashes that only recently covered her naked body. It was leaving her to quickly and she swayed where she stood. Where she stood; frankly she didn't know. It was dark, the moon was full and had an odd blue tint to it. _

"_Damon." She whispered with a ghost of a smile on her lips that only the comfort of his name could bring. The moon was the same shade as his crystalline eyes and was rimmed with as much darkness as his thick long lashes held. Her trembling slowly subsided as she focused on the memory of the man that _always _saved her, even when she didn't want him to._

_She swayed again as her knees threatened to buckle beneath her. Curiously she peered down as the coppery smell of her own blood overwhelmed her. The crimson liquid had begun to pool around her bare feet and slowly make its way through the intricate pattern carved into the cold rock she stood on. Had she not been so terrified and faint she might have found it beautiful._

"_It will all be over soon my dear." His voice was deceptively sweet and held a hint of pity that she knew he didn't feel. His large blue eyes that held a well practised warmth as did his dimpled smile made her skin crawl and caused her trembling to return. _

_Elena suppressed a shudder and tried to quell the waves of nausea that slowly washed over her. She tilted her head up to once again gaze at the moon and ignore the tall blond vampire that had caused all this. "Damon." She mumbled faintly as her eyesight and mind started to blur the images of the moon and his eyes into one and the same. _

_She heard him chuckle lightly and she wanted to run away and not stop until her lungs burned and her heart threatened to give out. "As you wish Elena." He said and she heard him snap his fingers. _

_There was the sound of heavy boots on gravel and something; someone being dragged. Once she heard the pain filled groan she unfortunately was all to familiar with, she instinctively lowered her gaze. "Damon." She couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips at the sight of his marred body. He was covered in as much blood and gashes as she was and one of his arms seemed to have been pulled out of its socket and lay limply at his side. _

_He blinked sluggishly in her direction seemingly unable to focus his eyes. "Elena?" His voice was impossibly hoarse and held a note of confusion. The man that had been dragging him tossed Damon easily at her feet._

_Her knees buckled at the impact of his body and she crumpled in a heap on top of him. "Hey." She mumbled into his chest._

"_Hey." He whispered tiredly out of bruised lips into her hair._

_She struggled to raise her head so she could look at him. "We're dying." She smiled a watery smile at him._

_He closed his eyes briefly taking a deep unneeded breath. "I know." _

_Elena slowly made her way further up his body to lay her head on his shoulder. "You need to heal." She whispered in his ear as she brought her wrist to his lips. His fangs extended and pierced her tender skin and the world quickly faded with the pull of his lips._

Elena woke up with a start. It had all come far too close to... she couldn't think it. She quickly wiped away the tears staining her cheeks. She shakily grabbed her phone from her bedside hoping in vain that he would answer her desperate call this time.

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore. State your business."**_

_***BEEP***_

"I just need to know that you're still alive." She choked out into the receiver her voice cracked and faltered as the sentence came to a close and her mind wandered back to her dreams. "I... I can't live not knowing if you are." A muffled sob escaped her before she had time to hang up.

Like all other mornings since _that_ night she started it by crying until she didn't have time for more tears. She shuffled into the bathroom that connected her and Jeremy's rooms. She showered and did everything else she needed to before she once again headed off to another day of mind-numbing lessons that were little to no help in the life she'd lived up until now. She continually checked her phone for missed messages or calls, but there were none. By the end of the day she was a mess of nerves and resurfacing fears.

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore. Talk to me."**_

_***BEEP***_

Elena let out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Oh. Thank God you're alive." A laughter of relief bubbled out of her as tears began to stream down her cheeks staining them with mascara. "I was so worried. I was so afraid. I didn't know how much I'd miss your sarcastic ass." She wiped her tears and cleared her throat. "We miss you. _I_ miss you Damon. Where are you?" She hung up and for the first time in days she slept soundly.

She continued her daily calls, each getting longer then the next. Although she always asked where he was she began to tell him about the things he was missing. She told him about movie night, school and dancing 'till dawn. She told him about Alaric moving in since Katherine was still stuck in his apartment, about Jeremy and Bonnie going out and about them breaking up. She slowly stopped writing in her diary as she told him more details of her days, thoughts and secrets.

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore. Talk to me."**_

_***BEEP***_

Elena paced the length of her room back and forth agitatedly. "Gha! Why didn't you ever say anything?" She hissed heatedly raking a hand through her long dark hair. "I shouldn't have had to figure it out all by myself. _You_ should have told me. Damn it Damon! Did you _want_ me to hate you?" She stopped pacing and forced herself to take several deep calming breaths instead of throwing her phone across the room as she wanted to. "Why didn't you just say that you never intended to _kill_ Jeremy? That you intended to _turn_ him?" She sank onto the floor silently laying down on her back and staring at the ceiling. "He told me what you'd said right before..." She sighed heavily wondering what he might answer if he would ever choose to. "Do you realize that I forgave you _before_ he told me? I think I might be a worse sister then you were a brother AND _you_ promised Stefan an eternity of misery." She chuckled bitterly and closed her eyes willing the bitter feelings to subside. "Actually you turned out to be a pretty awesome brother. He was better because of you; because you pushed him... and saved him so many times."

Jeremy poked his head into her room from the adjoining bathroom. "Who are you talking to? Are you OK sis?"

She chuckled before speaking. "I'm fine Jer. Just having a talk with Damon's voice-mail."

Jeremy grinned and sauntered into the room snatching her phone from her. "Hey dickwad. You really should have told her. You know you should have... " Clearly he had been eavesdropping on her very private conversation... monologue. "Are you ever coming back? If not then I'm calling dibs on your Ipod and I cleaned out your closet. You had some nice shit and Stefan told me to help myself." He grinned wickedly before handing the phone back to Elena.

"It's true you know. He's wearing that black and grey striped shirt with the white collar and cuffs right now. He's gotten really tall." She sighed happily as she watched her baby brother make his way out of her room and down the stairs. "He misses you. We all do."

She giggled giddily. "So I have a confession. I might have stolen some of your things as well." She paused wondering if she should actually tell him what she'd taken. Perhaps if he got angry enough at them he'd come back. "Eh. I may have taken three button-downs, five or six t-shirts, a grey fedora which I constantly get compliments on, that dark blue cardigan I tried to steal that other time, your copy of Gone With The Wind, a fancy pen with your name on it... um, what else?" She tapped her chin lightly while she thought. "I may or may not have raided your photo-albums." She paused as her gaze lingered on three large photo-albums laying on her dresser. "I promise to just get copies and then put them back. Oh, I almost forgot I also took that stuffed crow and named him... no wait it's a raven. Anyway I named him Damon after you." She chuckled softly remembering the night she had finished most of his bourbon while jumping on his bed with raven Damon under her arm. She'd snuck into the house on a night she knew Stefan wouldn't be home. She'd made herself at home in Damon's room and slipped out with bird Damon right before dawn. She'd talked to his voice-mail while she stumbled home reminiscing over their road trip to Georgia.

Her gaze shifted to the crisp luxurious sheets currently covering her bed. "Err. This is a bit awkward. I kind of took all your bed linens." She blushed furiously not quite sure if she should have confessed _that_. "They were just sooo soft and I might also have taken a pillow... or two." She cleared her throat and coughed."OK last thing; I took your monogrammed silk robe and matching sippers. That's it. I swear I'll put everything back when _you_ come back." She stated hurriedly as if he would suddenly start scolding her.

She twirled a strand of hair between her fingers and sighed softly. "I applied to Duke. I'm not sure I'll get in even if my bio mom was an alumni. My grades aren't really all that appealing. You know with all the running around and almost getting killed studying sort of took a backseat." She chuckled and rolled over onto her stomach. "I've gotta go. I miss you." She smacked her lips loudly in an air kiss. "Call me." She hung up feeling a bit better. At least she'd told him she forgave him even if it might not matter to him; even if he'd never hear it.

She kept calling and leaving messages for him never knowing if he listened to a single word. She hoped he did. Jeremy started snatching her phone more frequently mid conversation after that. Soon both Caroline and Alaric did as well; chiming in whenever they knew Elena was speaking to _Damon._ When she got accepted to Duke he was the first person she called. She cheered and squealed into the phone. The call ended with her giggling hysterically after lewdly suggesting he come visit her now that she'd know plenty of sorority girls he could snack on.

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore. Talk to me."**_

_***BEEP***_

"Guess what? I just finished unpacking the last box of my stuff. I managed to get a small apartment off campus. You should see it. I wish you would." She sighed tiredly and ran a hand through her freshly cut hair. A whole year had passed and still no one had heard a word from him. "I cut most of my hair off today. I haven't decided if I like it just yet." She laid down on her new bed and snuggled into Damon's sheets which she refused to give back even after Stefan had realized she'd been the culprit. "If you want your stuff back you'll have to come here and get it." She sighed contentedly as her eyes stared to drift shut. "G'nite Damon." She air kissed into the phone. "I miss you." Her finger hovered over the end call button. "You're always welcome to come inside where ever I am... it's an open unending invite Damon; don't let it go to waste." She ended the call and drifted off into a calm dreamless sleep.

Duke turned out to be both worse and better then she'd thought. Her classes were impossibly hard, but she was surrounded by new and interesting people. She still called him every day to update him on her progress or failures and her new friends and enemies.

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore. Talk to me."**_

_***BEEP***_

"I think I had one too many." She slurred into the phone while making her way out of a frat party. "I only had like three beers, but I feel dizzy." She stumbled out into the street. "You know I'm no lightweight. I feel kinda sick." She swallowed thickly. "Somethings wrong." Her voice cracked and she swayed and stumbled. "Damon. Something's _really_ wrong." She said in a panicked voice.

"Hey you alright doll?" She heard someone say behind her.

"No. Can you go find my friend... Lilly." She turned to look at the stranger. He was standing far to close. "Red head in a green dress." Elena swayed again and fell into the guy. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"I'll get ya home hun'." He said gripping her arm uncomfortably tightly.

"No. Go get my friend please." She tried to pull out of his grip but couldn't. "Damon, you still there?" She said into the phone getting really freaked out. "Are you on your way yet to come get me? I wanna go home." Thankfully the guy let go of her arm then and she straightened up. "I'll wait for you. This guy is gonna go find Lilly." She stated and waved the guy to go inside and find her friend. "I'm gonna talk to you until she comes out so hurry up and get here." She slurred loudly as she watched the guy disappear into the party. "I think I'm gonna pass out Damon and she isn't here. I think someone put something in my drink." She shook her head to try and rid it of the haze that was slowly settling in.

"Lenny." Elena turned to see Lilly race towards her with worry etched on her face.

"I lo... " Elena started but never finished since she crumpled in an unconscious heap on the pavement.

She woke up in the hospital with a concussion and ten stitches on her knee and hairline. The first thing she did was ask if Damon had come when she was told that no one but Lilly was settled in the waiting room she didn't cry. She reached for her phone once more and only left a single sentence for a message.

"Why didn't you come?"

He of course didn't answer. Some weeks later Elena contemplated why Lilly seemed to remember next to nothing about that night except that she'd gotten Elena to the hospital, yet she didn't know how. She hoped he had come for her; saved her like he _always_ had, but it could just as well be chock that had created Lilly's memory-loss.

Her nightmares returned after that night. They changed in character and became worse. When they woke her up she called simply to listen to his soothing voice, never leaving a message. She dialed and redialed until she fell asleep and his voice-mail recorded her fitful sleep.

_Sharp pebbles were cutting through the marred skin of her palms and knees. She inched forward leaving a trail of crimson pebbles in her wake. She did so despite knowing he was enjoying her ill attempt at escape. His shadow loomed ominously over her trembling body. He was right behind her, she could feel the malice roll off him in bloodcurdling waves. _

"_Elena." He singsonged far too cheerily in his deceptively soft silky voice._

_She whimpered pitifully as her deepest fears resurfaced and threatened to become reality. "Please." She knew her plea was falling on def ears and would never be taken under consideration. Crawling forward on shaky limbs she finally reached her destination. Feeling desperately for a pulse she wasn't sure she was conscious enough to find she slid her fingers clumsily over the the flawless ivory flesh. "Jenna." She whispered brokenly as tears stung behind her lids._

_His footsteps were soundless despite the gravel as he moved to stand directly behind her. "It's a shame that she WAS such a novice. She could have become a great asset." The regret shadowing his words could have fooled most, but not her. She knew they were merely meant to mock her._

_A single sob escaped her at the realization of the meaning behind his words. She swallowed around the ever increasing lump in her throat just as he delivered a sharp kick to her rear. Tumbling on top of her aunts cooling corps she lost her breath and consciousness._

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore. Talk to me."**_

_***BEEP***_

She sighed exasperatedly and rubbed at her eyes to rid them of the sleep that still lingered there. "I can't sleep anymore. I guess you've noticed... or not." She chuckled bitterly and slumped back down on her bed. " Did you come for me? Was it you that got me to the hospital? I... " She trailed off, she needed answers he just wasn't giving. "I need you to let me know if you did or not. I don't want to be so afraid. I don't want to feel so alone." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I feel so horribly alone Damon. I miss you so very much." She kissed into the phone. "Call me." She pleaded weakly knowing there was little to no chance that he ever would.

She pleaded that way for a week before she received any sign.

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore as in saviour. Leave a message."**_

_***BEEP***_

"Does that mean what I think it does?" She curled back under the covers that she'd just pulled back after waking. "I'm so glad to know that you're listening even if you don't want to talk to me. I wish you would though. It's been years Damon. What did I do? Why don't you want to talk to me?" She wanted to talk to him so badly. "Why did you just disappear after... you know?"

She swallowed thickly and decided on a topic change. "Alaric says that he's been trying to get a hold of you to invite you to his and Tara's wedding. Don't you wanna come? I'd like you to be my date so let me know. OK?" She absentmindedly combed through her tangled tresses with her fingers as she spoke. "It could be really fun you know. Go back and see how everyone is. Make an awkward speech to embarrass him. You know you want to." She chuckled at the mere thought of just how awkward Damon could make it. He was sort of the king of making others uncomfortable. She glanced at the time. "I better get up and get ready for class. Thank you for saving me. Again." She kissed into the phone and hung up.

Her nightmares became more infrequent after that morning. She still however dialed and redialed to listen to his voice until she fell into slumber and her soft rhythmic breathing was recorded after each time.

Once the Saltzman wedding rolled around Elena was a mess of nerves. The whole time she glanced anxiously around trying to find a head full of silky raven hair or a pair of piercing blue eyes. She didn't. She'd called him several times during the course of the wedding, holding out the phone so he could hear the vows being exchanged and during Jeremy's best-man speech that reminded her very much of Damon's dry wit and dripping sarcasm. She returned dejected to Duke for her last semester after her foster-fathers midsummer wedding.

"_**You've reached Damon Salvatore as in saviour. Leave a message."**_

_***BEEP***_

Elena slowly walked through her now empty apartment. "The last box is in the truck now. I'm leaving Duke. You never came." She sighed and settled onto the window seat in the living-room. "It's been nearly five years now and I think it's time for me to face facts. It's time for me to let go." The tears welled up and instantly spilled down her face. "I wont tell you where I'm going and I'll remove my sim-card as soon as I end this call. I wont call again." She swallowed trying to rid herself of the lump that had formed in her throat.

"There hasn't been a day since you left that I haven't missed you, but I suppose you know that already. What with my incessant calling." She chuckled bitterly. "This is it Damon. I lo... no I can't." She sucked in a breath and held it for a moment to calm herself. "I can't. If I say it then I'll break because you never came; you'll never come for me. It'll be too painful to say now that it's far too late." She sniffled. "I should have said it when I realized it, but I couldn't. You... no, I don't know if it would have mattered. Probably not."

She steeled herself for what was to come. She'd decided and she couldn't keep torturing herself anymore. "This is goodbye Damon. I hope your happy somewhere living a wonderful life. I'll move on now and stop waiting for you to come back to me. I hope you're with someone who loves you the way you should be loved and who you love in return. You mean the world to me, you know?" She sniffled and wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. She kissed into the phone one last time. "I miss you. Be safe." She hung up and removed her sim-card which she broke in half and reluctantly threw in the trash on her way out.

After that there was no way for him to reach her. Her friends and family had vowed to not tell him anything should he ever ask. She highly doubted that he would. She was wrong.

oOo

**AN:** Let me know what you think of my little experiment... _please_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Don't profit or own; please don't sue.

**Summary:** After the sacrifice Damon up and leaves without a word to anyone. Elena ends up having a relationship with his voice-mail since he never picks up... but is he listening?

**AN:** I want to thank all off you for reading, reviewing, alerting and favouriting. I heart you all so much. So this is the second instalment of this suddenly three shot... I totally caved and wrote a new ending. I personally blame Damon, he wasn't too happy about where I intended to leave him. He called me lazy and a few other choice names that I'd rather not repeat before I gave up and in and wrote the third part.

oOo

**Unanswered**

oOo

**Dialing Damon**

oOo

_Rose swayed before crumpling to her knees on the hard wet concrete with a loud crack of breaking kneecaps. Her skin was ashen and her pulse thumped loudly in his ears. "This is your fault." She wheezed brokenly as she tried to stop the blood from seeping around the large stake protruding from her chest._

"_I'm sorry; I didn't know." He pleaded trying unsuccessfully to move closer to help her. He glanced down at where his feet should have been, only to see that he had sunken down into the concrete up to his shins. A wave of panic rolled through him as he desperately tried to tug his legs free. The more he tugged the deeper he sank. "Rose! Help me!" He shouted the shrill sound of his own voice making him wince. When he glanced back up to see why the vampiress would not help him he saw nothing but thick darkness. "Rose?" It was a mere whisper this time as a deep ache clenched at his heart knowing he had lost her for good._

_A cruel and throaty female chuckle drifted to him on a breeze smelling of sand, sun and brine. "Pathetic. So fucking gullible." The voice suddenly spat venomously before continuing its chuckling. _

_Damon turned as best he could sinking deeper into the dark depths of the thick concrete. "Who's there?" He growled reaching down for the fury boiling within him to cover his mind-numbing fear. "Show yourself." The demand caused the cruel chuckles to escalate into full blown malicious laughter. _

_The laughter bounced around on unseen walls, echoing round and round until there was nothing but an ear-piercing cackle growing louder. _

"_Stop!" His scream only added to the noise making his head spin and his ears bleed. Covering his ears he continued screaming for the noise to end. _

Damon woke up with a start; bolting up to a sitting position. Large drops of cold sweat snaked their way down his heated skin. He gulped down large breaths of unneeded air into his lungs trying to regain his bearings. His clothes were soaked with sweat and blood; mud, grass and various other stains speckled his once immaculate black outfit. As he surveyed the unfamiliar thick pine forest that surrounded him he felt something vibrate lightly in one of his pockets.

**32 missed calls**

He unblinkingly stared at the display on his phone wondering how so many calls had gone unnoticed by him. He absent-mindedly scratched at the arm holding his phone freezing as he realized the stabbing pain from earlier was gone. Bunching up his sleeve carelessly he stared at the flawless milky skin of his forearm.

"_**... press 5 to listen to the message again..." **_Before the automated voice of his voice-mail had time to give him further instructions he anxiously pressed the appropriate button to listen to the fifth and final message waiting for him. The revelation that the bite hadn't killed him and that Elena had called him thirty-two times and left him five worried voice-mails wasn't helping his scattered thoughts in the least.

He listened to her deep shaky intake of breath before she spoke. _**"I just need to know that you're still alive."**_ There was so much pain in her voice that it made his eyes well up. His idiot brother better not have told her he was on the brink of death. He had promised, although he did know how little that meant when it came to his saintly little brother. _**"I... I can't live not knowing if you are."**_ At the sound of her sob his tears spilled over. He couldn't do this to her, but he couldn't very well call her and expect that she wouldn't ask why he wasn't there. His heart couldn't take lying to her any more than he already had.

"_**... to change greeting press 3, to listen to saved messages press..." **_His mind snapped back as the automated voice rattled off his options giving him the perfect out. Clearing his throat and testing his voice he listened to the instructions being given. **_"... press the pound key to end the message."_**

_***BEEP***_

"You've reached Damon Salvatore. Talk to me." He pressed the pound key and then relistened to his changed greeting phrase feeling somewhat pleased with it. She would understand and her mind would be eased and that was all that mattered.

Pocketing his phone he began his long trek through the unknown woods wondering how long he had left. It turned out that it was much longer than expected. The first dinky little town he had come upon was unknown to him and far worse than Mystic Falls upon first sight. It didn't matter to him though; he was only there to die somewhat comfortably anyway. He found his way to a shabby motel where he compelled the receptionist to give him a room and to leave him undisturbed for the rest of the week. Death had not come by then, in fact he felt better than ever if a bit parched and disturbed by his feverish nightmares.

He suspected that the daily messages left by the doe eyed beauty he cherished so much might have a bit to do with his cheery mood.

_***BEEP***_

"_**You'll never guess what happened today."**_ The excitement in her voice sent pleasant tingles through his entire body. **_"Alaric got approved to be our guardian and he's moving in. We don't have to go into foster care! Isn't that great?" _**He grinned widely at the news relaxing further on the park bench he was currently sitting on. Good ol' Alaric had come through as always. There were few men as good as his friend and there was no doubt in his mind that he would do wonderfully with the Gilbert siblings. _**"Where are you Damon? When are you coming home?" **_He winced slightly at the sadness in her voice. He'd been gone for quite some time now and that time had been spent thinking and the thinking had led to some hard truths and realizations.

"_**Did you hear that?" **_She whispered suddenly and when he trained his ears he could hear the the faint voices of Jeremy and Bonnie in the background. **_"They're fighting again. I swear it's driving me crazy. All that power's gone to her head."_** She snickered softly obviously trying to avoid being found out. That had been a first; her not defending the witch. Considering the fight was with her baby brother he wasn't all that surprised. "_**Oh, did you hear what he said?"**_ There was only the sound of her shallow breathing for several moments and it had almost lulled him to sleep before she spoke again. **_"I can't believe she refused to find you. I wasn't surprised when she refused when_ I_ asked, but this time it was Jer... and he had some pretty strong arguments."_** Damon however was not surprised by Sabrina's refusal, he was however surprised by the fact that BOTH Gilbert siblings had petitioned to her. He had after all broken one of their necks and force-fed the other his blood on two occasions. This only further steeled his resolve to stay away from his loved ones so that he wouldn't damage them more than he already had. _**"Come home Damon, we miss you."**_ He waited patiently for her to cut the call as a lump formed in his throat. Maybe he should just go have a quick look and make sure they were OK. They wouldn't have to see him, he'd just pop by and make sure.

Yeah, just to make sure.

The quick look turned into downright lurking, he refused to call it stalking, it wasn't an everyday thing. Mostly he just made sure he was close enough in case something happened, which meant any nearby town would do. Now that he had seen her again he didn't have it in him to leave, but he did find the strength to go unnoticed. She was as beautiful as ever and apparently no longer with his brother... who was obviously more of a moron than he had thought.

He wasn't surprised at all when he heard of the blow-up between Bonnie and Jeremy after countless other calls sounding very much like that one. After it he despised the little witch even more than before and couldn't help but revel in the fact that the increasingly charming Gilbert boy finally saw the light. The fact that the boy had perfected a mischievous smirk of his own as well as a very particular brand of sarcastic wit made him feel quite proud. It was ridiculous of course, but it didn't escape him how much Elena enjoyed his antics that reminded him so much of his own.

_***BEEP***_

"_**Happy Halloween Damon!"**_ The chorus of his friends voices singsonging sent a delicious surge of warmth through his chest. **_"Hey daddy, it's care-bear."_** Caroline was obviously drunk already making him chuckle at the new term of endearment she had bestowed on him. It wasn't the worst one he had had as a maker. He kind of liked it. _**"You're missing one hell of a party and Elena dressed up as vampire Carrie Bradshaw with fangs and smeared in blood and all... did I mention she's only wearing four inch stilettos, a man's shirt and a tie for a belt." **_She giggled and he could hear Elena in the background trying to get her phone back from the bubbly vampiress. It conjured up all sorts of wicked groin hardening images in his mind. **_"Funny thing; I think I've seen someone wear that exact John Varvatos black button-down and that powder-blue silk tie before. I wonder who it belongs to?" _**He rolled his eyes knowing full well what the boxes he had seen the Gilbert siblings fill Elena's car with before she left for Duke contained. _His_ things, she had confessed to it after all... it was kind of sweet or utterly depressing... he was going with sweet. Actually it was really, _really _hot. He instantly regretted not having lurked around Duke last night in favour of drinking himself into a bourbon induced stupor back at his newly acquired apartment.

"_**Ass-face." **_Was Jeremy's disturbingly curt greeting. **_"You're also missing Care's very convincing librarian outfit. Although I've never seen a librarian look anything like _that_." _**The youngest Gilbert stated lewdly sounding far to much like himself or perhaps not quite enough. Damon chuckled mischievously at the thought of having corrupted at least one of the siblings. _**"Serves you right though. Oh, look at that Elena's being swarmed by the football team."**_ The faux surprise and amazement in the boys voice did have its intended effect. Damon could feel the jealousy simmer just underneath his skin and he had to remind himself that he wasn't allowed to be jealous over someone he had no claim to... no matter how much he loved her. _**"Give me that. I am **_**not****_ being swarmed by anyone." _** Elena chuckled having finally gotten her hands on her phone again. His heart instantly warmed at her attempt to placate him, the girl was too good for her own good. _**"Don't listen to them, they're drunk."**_ There were muffled protests on the other end that had him chuckling. **_"Besides Jer went as you; dressed in all black. _He_ claims he isn't dressed up, but me and Care know better." _**So maybe he had corrupted both Gilbert siblings. Jeremy's huffing was drowned out by Elena's bubbling laughter sending him into a bout of chuckles of his own. _**"We miss you." **_ The three of them singsonged before the girls air kissed loudly into the phone and hung up. They were happy. _She_ was happy. He was doing the right thing by staying away.

After that particular call he stayed away from her for weeks at a time even though he was reminded of her open ended invite into her home daily. Fortunately for her... and him... he lurked around her most weekends torturing himself by watching guys flock around her in their feeble attempts to seduce her.

He was perched on the roof of the frat house she was currently partying at, honing his hearing in on her voice. It was a skill he had near perfected over the time he had been _watching_ her. Her distinct laughter reached his ears. It wasn't a genuine bout of laughter, but a nervous and uncomfortable one which made him perk up and scan the houses surroundings.

He spotted her stumbling out of the front door with her phone pressed tightly to her ear. "I think I had one too many." She slurred into the phone as she zigzagged down the path towards the street.

Something was clearly wrong with her. He moved swiftly to the side of the house where a large bong was currently being passed around. It was lucky really since all sides of the house had people and him jumping down from the roof unscathed would not go unnoticed.

"I only had like three beers, but I feel dizzy." She stumbled out into the street. "You know I'm no lightweight. I feel kinda sick." Her legs were as shaky as jello and he had a suspicion that he knew what was going on.

He dropped gracefully in the middle of the pot-circle ignoring all the gasps and awe filled comments. _She_ was the only priority at the moment. Stalking closer he watched as a grabby little creep tried to sway _his 'Lena_ to leave with him. A burst of pride filled him as he listened to her brush him off, order him around and very convincingly pretend that _he himself_ was on the other end of that call.

A murderous grin spread across his face as the little perv spotted him stalking towards them with his own phone pressed to his ear. The little shit let go off her instantly and she turned and waved him off and into the house. The guys heart rate had sped up so drastically that a heart-attack was imminent had he not gotten away.

"Lenny." A buxom redhead shouted worriedly as she ran towards Elena.

He saw her knees give way as her eyes rolled back and he was sure his heart wold have stopped had it been beating. Speeding forward, but not fast enough, he cursed himself for not having used the abilities having been given to him. Her head hit the pavement breaking skin. The scent of her blood hitting him had him in a frenzy. He would turn her in front of the gathering crowd if that was what he had to do to keep her alive... -ish.

"Lilly grab her phone." He ordered sternly scooping the unconscious mess of a girl into his arms. She weighed next to nothing.

"Who are you?" The red haired girl trailing after him asked.

He answered without turning around with a simple. "Damon." After having slipped her into the back seat of his beloved Camaro he unceremoniously bit into his wrist and forced a few gulps down her throat. It felt like he was right back to saving her from that damned car wreck before he stole her away to Georgia... except for the hysterical and frozen in place girl gawking at them. "Get in the car." He compelled irritatedly and thankfully the girl complied.

The next day after leaving her in the hospital he almost answered when she called, but he couldn't. It had been so fucking long; he had no idea what to do or say. "Hey, drove you to the hospital yesterday since I was far too late to save you despite having been lurking at the party you were at. Oh, and btw I totally wiped you're friends memory clean because I'm a coward." That was just not going to cut it.

After that night she would call multiple times in a row in the middle of the night. It always ended with a message of her whimpering and sometimes screaming in her sleep... at times she would be shouting his name. Every single day he listened to her messages asking him if he had come for her. He was causing her so much pain again and he couldn't stand it. Being the coward that he was he took the only out he could think of.

"_**... press the pound key to end the message."**_

_***BEEP***_

Inhaling deeply before putting on a faux cheery voice he started on his new greeting."You've reached Damon Salvatore as in saviour. Leave a message." She would understand... she had to.

The night after he had recorded his new greeting he found himself standing outside her apartment in the dead of night. He could hear her muffled whimpering from inside; he couldn't stand it. Within the blink of an eye he had picked the lock and swung the door wide open. He said an impromptu prayer to whatever deity might be listening, hoping desperately that her informal invite over the phone was enough to get him over the thresh-hold. To his delight it was.

His entrance was soundless and he had her necklace of in an instant before settling at the side of her bed. A momentary doubt of his intrusion was quickly quelled as she whimpered again before muttering his name. He closed his eyes and focused.

_He spotted her glistening wet in the moonlight, her body bathed in it's own blood. The sweet aroma of her potent crimson wine enticed him to step closer. She swayed as more of her precious life-force seeped from the deep gashes in her flesh and pooled at her feet. She was a goddess in her own right. Unknowingly she had the power to sway any man may he be dead or alive... especially be he undead._

"_Damon." She murmured, her warm brown eyes transfixed on the full moon shining in an unnatural shade of blue. The fear rolled off her in thick threatening waves of anxiety._

_He approached her cautiously not wanting to frighten her. "Yes, 'Lena?" He kept his tone as soft as he could hoping to hear her heart-rate slow._

_She kept her gaze on the moon. "Where are you?" Her voice was weak and broken. She'd have passed out long ago had this not been a dream._

"_I'm right here." He cupped the side of her face making her look at him._

_The eyes looking back at him stared vacantly back. There was no hint of the warmth he knew they possessed and no recognition at all. "Where are you?" She repeated her voice cracking and breaking as large tears sprung forth and tumbled down her cheeks, clearing a path through the ruby smears._

_Pulling her into a bone-crushing embrace he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I'm right here, kitten, I'm right here." _

_She whimpered helplessly and spoke into his chest. "I'm dying." She sniffled and snuggled further into his chest staining his clothes with her delicious blood. "I'm dying and I don't know where you went."_

_Scooping her into his arms easily he wandered out of the clearing they stood in. "You're not dying love and I'm with you... always." Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice taunted that he was a fool and that he had only damaged her further by keeping himself hidden from her. Swallowing thickly and quieting the voice he forced the scene to change._

_They were laying on a large blanket side by side, sand surrounded them on all sides and the sound of crashing waves sounded in the background. The sun shun brightly in a clear and cloudless sky. _

_She rolled onto her side and propped her head up in her hand. "Hey." She said softly. "Wanna play a game?" A small smile ghosted over her lips._

_Rolling to his side he mirrored her position. "Sure. What game did you want to play?" He questioned smirking as her eyes roamed appreciatively over his toned body._

"_Truth or dare?" She questioned with a cocked eyebrow._

_He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm going with truth because I'm too comfortable to move."_

_The grin that triumphantly spread over hear face was a touch frightening. "Where are you?" She repeated once more._

"_I answered that already. I'm right here with you." He needed to push harder that's all. "Truth or dare? He asked lightly waggling his eyebrows._

_It earned him a chuckle. "Dare." She answered expectantly, her doe eyes locking with his._

_Figuring it was a dream and that no harm would be done he asked for the thing he longed for the most. "Kiss me." He could hear the plea loud and clear and he saw that she had heard it too, but he didn't care._

_She scooted closer smiling shyly. "Are you ready?" He gave a sharp nod to her question and waited. She moved closer, her lips hovering only a breath away from his. "I miss you." She said under her breath before she closed the rest of the distance._

_Her plump dusky-pink lips were soft and warm as they melted into his. The kiss was sweet and __painfully tender._

At the sound of the rhythmic change in her heartbeat and breathing he broke of and hurried out of her apartment after clasping her necklace back around her neck. Locking the door he heaved a content sigh and strolled out of the building knowing full well that he would be back the next night.

He kept coming back listening for any sign of a nightmare and entering her home and dreams whenever he thought it necessary. As they grew more infrequent he reluctantly stopped his meddling. The dreams had however left him with grave doubts of his actions. He had been doing well for years now... he had been _good_ in his own way. Maybe, _maybe_ one day he would be good enough to try to deserve her.

Little did he know that him leaving her dreams would have an unexpected effect. Once his nightly presence disappeared she took it as a sign...

"_**... This is it Damon. I lo... no I can't."**_ It was the eight time he listened to the message and he still couldn't make himself believe that she had almost said what he never thought she could feel. _**"I can't. If I say it then I'll break because you never came; you'll never come for me. It'll be too painful to say now that it's far too late."**_ She sniffled and he broke all over again. What had he done? _**"I should have said it when I realized it, but I couldn't. You... no, I don't know if it would have mattered. Probably not."**_ He wanted to scream that it made a world of difference, but he was too late... _too fucking late_. _**"This is goodbye Damon. I hope your happy somewhere living a wonderful life. I'll move on now and stop waiting for you to come back to me. I hope you're with someone who loves you the way you should be loved and who you love in return. You mean the world to me, you know?"**_ As she sniffled he choked out a sob as his legs gave out and he crumpled in a heap on his living-room floor. She kissed into the phone one last time. _**"I miss you. Be safe." **_The call cut and for the first time in five years _he_ dialed _her_ number.

"_**This number has been disconnected. Please try again."**_

oOo

**AN:** Fear not there is another part left... so please feel free (or obligated) to click on the review button and write a few lines.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Don't profit or own; please don't sue.

**Summary:** After the sacrifice Damon up and leaves without a word to anyone. Elena ends up having a relationship with his voice-mail since he never picks up... but is he listening?

**AN:** Thank you all so much for your support, reviews, alerts and favourites. It means so much to me that all off you took the time to read and react to my fic. Since I didn't want my fingers bitten off here's the third and final part. *crosses fingers*

oOo

**Unanswered**

oOo

**Dispatching Damon**

oOo

"_**This number has been disconnected. Please try again."**_

Damon cursed and redialed her number for the twelfth time in as many minutes. He'd desperately tried to plead with all her friends and family who had had various reactions. He'd received pity, anger, sorrow, gloating, stubbornness and worst of all malicious joy at his expense. Damn witch.

"_**This number has been disconnected. Please try again."**_

He hit his steering wheel before making a u-turn and heading for New York where he would find Jeremy tucked away in college. He wasn't too proud to beg or too nice to threaten the younger Gilbert. He thought he'd have more time. He pushed harder down on the accelerator; there was no more time to spill.

When Jeremy swung open his door he sneered and went for the anger Damon knew all too well. "What the fuck do _you_ want?" Jeremy spat before plastering on an eerily familiar smirk.

"Your sister. I'm still trying to find Elena." Damon sighed, he'd have to start begging. He doubted it would work on Jeremy. It sure as hell wouldn't have worked on himself.

The younger Gilbert chuckled darkly. "A little late don't you think?" He grinned crookedly. "Five freaking years to late, _Damon_."

The vampire clenched his jaw and swallowed down the urge to rip the others head off. "I made a mistake."

Jeremy widened his eyes and tilted his head to the side. "I'd say." He cocked a dark eyebrow. "She's moved on. Get over it." He smirked cheekily. "She has."

The elder and undead shut his eyes and let out an unnecessary breath. "Then let her tell me Jeremy." He opened his eyes that were now glassy. "_Please._"

Jeremy chuckled again. "You manipulative fucker. Are those even real?" He gestured vaguely at Damon's eyes. "After you just bailed on _us_ that way, what makes you think I'd _ever_ give you the chance to hurt her again?" He clenched his fists repeatedly and narrowed his eyes.

At that moment Damon realized it wasn't only about him hurting Elena. Something in the way Jeremy talked and acted tipped him off that there were far more people he needed to straighten things out with.

"I'm sorry for disappearing like I did Jer. I thought it was for the best." He tried to keep his voice soft and sincere because he truly was sorry despite the anxiety that threatened to surface.

"You just bailed on us. You left and didn't bother looking back. Shit." He raked a hand through his dark brown tresses. "After everything that happened you just left _us_. You were supposed to be family _Damon_. Family doesn't just leave without a word; never letting you know if they're alive or dead." He huffed angrily before slipping back behind his façade. "Screw you Damon." He smirked and slipped his hands into his pant-pockets. "Have fun looking for Waldo. You'll _never_ guess where he is." At that he kicked the door closed in Damon's face.

Damon dejectedly made his way back down the corridor once again dialing her number and unaware of the conversation on the other side of the door.

"_**This number has been disconnected. Please try again."**_

"Wasn't that the pizza guy?" Elena poked her head around the corner to look at Jeremy.

The younger Gilbert shook his head and chuckled bitterly. "Nope." He said popping the p.

"You OK Jer? You seem agitated. Who was it?" She moved to stand in front of her brother.

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I think I may have done something utterly stupid." He sighed and wrapped his arms around his big sister.

She embraced him. "You're making me really worried. What did you do?" She tipped her head back to be able to look up at her brother.

"That was Damon at the door." He held his breath while he studied his sisters reaction.

She fidgeted a bit and looked down repeatedly. "What did he want?" She asked in a small voice.

Jeremy let out the breath slowly. "You." He craned his neck to try and catch her gaze.

She squared her shoulders and cleared her throat. "Don't worry. You've done nothing wrong." She slowly stepped out of her brothers embrace. "I hope the pizza gets here soon, I'm starving." She stated and plastered on a very unconvincing smile. She slipped by him and back into his living-room.

He'd fucked up. Bad.

Jeremy slipped his cell out of his pocket and scrolled through his contacts and opened a new text.

**UR an idiot. try hRder NXT tym (_!_). -J**

Damon was half way out of the state before he noticed Jeremy's text. He made his second sharp u-turn of the day and sped back with a wide grin on his face. Figuring he had tried Jeremy's patients enough for one night he checked in to one of the cities more expensive hotels and settled in for the night.

_He awoke to his own pain-filled screams. The far too familiar feel of a blade ran across and through his skin leaving a deep ruby gash. He hissed as powdered vervain was sprinkled into the cut hindering it from healing as it should. White hot pain shot through his tattered mind and limbs as a groan tumbled from his chapped lips._

"_Oh. I'm sorry. Did that hurt?" A mans rough voice mocked exaggeratedly._

_He coughed and spit out remnants of someone else' blood. "Why; does it turn you on princess?" He wheezed out as he tried to lift his head unsuccessfully. _

_A large hand with strong fingers raked intimately through his hair before grabbing a fistful and yanking his head back further then was humanly possible. "I'm gonna fuck you up." The voice hissed into his ear._

_He smirked tiredly thankful that he didn't actually need to breath though his crushed windpipe. "I'm flattered, but I don't swing that way." The words were choked out and barely audible. Had his tormenter not been equally preternatural to himself then he would never have heard his false bravado. It earned him a slow cut down his spine with sprinkles of vervain as a topper. _

"_You can swing anyway you like now that you've drained your girlfriend." A second male voice said calmly. "How did the doppelgänger taste? Sweet I bet." The voice continued taking on a dreamy air._

"ELENA!" Damon shouted still half asleep as he scrambled hazily out of his nightmares. His chest heaved painfully while he tried to force back the overwhelming anxiety that had taken him over completely. He shook himself and stumbled out of the tangle of hotel sheets covering his trembling body. He crossed the luxurious room in search of his precious lifeline. He found it where he had left it beside the small vintage Tiffany's box, with his mothers engagement ring, in the pocket of his discarded jeans.

"_**This number has been disconnected. Please try again."**_

After dialing once and swearing profusely when he heard the tell tale phrases uttered reminding him that she had given up on him he dialed his own voice-mail. He quickly punched in the memorized number sequence needed to reach his saved messages.

"_**Hey it's me again." **_Said Elena's voice slurring slightly causing his anxiety to subside. **_"I had lots of fun tonight. Shit. I dropped Damon." _**He listened as she fumbled with the phone as he crossed the room and fell back onto the tangled hotel sheets. _**"I got him. Don't you worry he's fine. I'm taking really good care of him." **_When he'd first heard this particular message he hadn't understood at all what she'd been talking about and frankly he had worried that she'd hit her head... hard.

"_**Hey, d'you remember that time when we went to that place and I totally saved your ass?" **_She giggled excitedly and Damon couldn't help but smile. It could be a number of times that she was talking about, but instinctively he knew she was talking about Georgia. **_"That was fun. Hold on I need to take my shoes off." _**There was an array of noises before she moaned loudly. _**"Man those were killing me. I'm never borrowing someone else' heels ever again. I swear, those things were out to get me." **_He chuckled as she whined about her borrowed shoes and moaned in delight at being free from them. _**"Where was I... oh, right. I totally saved you that time. You're like the hardest to keep alive best friend I've ever had. It's ridiculous. Everyone wants to kill you, but what's even stranger is that they actually **_**try****_ to." _**Her huffing always made him smile and a delicious ache bloom in his chest as she offhandedly said he'd been her best friend. _**"I just realized that**_**_I'm the only one who's never tried to kill you... Stefan, Bonnie, her grams, Caroline, Liz, Alaric, Jenna, Jeremy, John, Isobel and her assistant whats-her-face, Katherine, Tyler, Mason, Jules and her wolves, Rose, Elijah, Klaus and his henchmen... did I leave anyone out? Right, Lexi and her bf. I think that's all of them... that I know of. NO! I totally forgot about all the tomb vamps and the council. They totally tried to end you." _**He chuckled along with the recording and closed his eyes to allow images of her to flutter behind his closed lids. _**"I should get a medal or something. I'm sooo awesome." **_She slurred and he could hear that she was smiling smugly while she talked. **_"I'll just keep Damon and we'll call it even... even Steven... even Steven Stefan... I think he's looking for you. He misses you almost as much as I do. HA. That rhymed."_** She snickered adorably at her own accidental wit. It warmed his heart that after everything she'd been through she was still a sweet young thing.

"_**When you come home you better bring presents. I miss you. Why aren't you here?"**_ After that he had bought her several presents from wherever he went not sure if she would ever receive them. Most importantly; he had gone to one of his security deposit boxes and retrieved his mothers ring. One day he'd make sure she got it. **_"BTW you're out of bourbon. I swear it wasn't me... that one bottle you'd hidden in the back of your closet was delicious. Oh, I borrowed some clothes. I kinda spilled some.. eh... stuff and needed something to wear." _**He could tell that she must have been a delightful shade of pink when she'd admitted that. His mind wandered conjuring up images of her sauntering barefoot clad in only one of his shirts with ruffled hair and heavy-lidded eyes being bathed in the first rays of the mornings sunrise. _**"I think I forgot my dress in your room. Eh, I'll get it tomorrow. What kind of sheets are those? They're really soft... like cotton-candy, but not sticky. You know 'cause you eat it with your hands and then end up licking your fingers cause they're really sugary, but you never really get all of it off no matter how much you lick or suck on your fingers and then... wait. What was I talking about?" **_He listened to her breath heavily into the receiver as she tried to remember what she had been talking about and possibly why it had ended up sounding so explicit.

"_**I... never mind. We're home now. Hold on we need to sneak upstairs." **_She whispered and as always he felt a shiver of a thrill shoot through him as if she were sneaking _him_ into her room in the early hours after a night of partying and not just Damon the stuffed raven. _**"All tucked in. Are you happy Damon? I sometimes wonder if you're happy. You should be here with us; here with your family. We miss you so much."**_ She yawned and he smiled sadly.

When she started to speak again it was in a much quieter voice. _**"We should go on a road-trip. Just you and me and Damon on the open road. You can even decide where to go. I don't care I just really wanna... you know **_**be****_." _**She yawned again and he could see her perfectly in his mind curled up around that silly stuffed bird still wearing his shirt with smudged makeup and her hair fanned out on the pillow behind her. His fingers itched to touch her, but instead he rolled to his side imagining himself curled up behind her with his face buried in her silky hair. _**"I never could do that with anyone else. Just be. You never tried to change me. I liked that. I hope you don't think I ever wanted to change you. I just wanted you to realize how amazing you could be when you wanted to. I always knew there was this greatness that you possessed. I bet I know what you would have been like if you hadn't turned. I'm glad you did. Is that awful of me?" **_She paused and her rhythmic breathing slowed significantly. **_"I can't help but be selfish when it comes to you. I don't want to let you go... ever." _**The last word was barely breathed out and he listened for several minutes as her breathing slowed further__as she drifted into slumber. **_"Damon." _**She half moaned, half whispered in her sleep. He hung up knowing that the rest of that call was only a recording of her breathing until she rolled onto the phone and it cut out in a cacophony of pressed buttons.

He slept soundly for several hours after being soothed by her. Every time he woke up from one of his nightmares he would repeat the ritual. Although he didn't always listen to the same message. He had several others saved and even a few transformed into mp3s that when his dreams were particularly bad played on a loop until morning.

**Wot wiL it tAk? -D**

**alot mo thN jst TLK. 5 yr.z iz alot 2 mAk ^ 4. U wer a total ==8 -J**

**I didnt mean 2 hurt her o NE1 of U. whr do I stRt? -D**

**Im cutting U som slack. wrte a letR & ill GIV it 2 her -J**

**thk U. ill brng it 2 yor plAc 2nt -D**

**mAk it gud cuz f U hurt her I wiL kill U -J**

His text conversation with Jeremy went better then he had thought it could. The younger Gilbert had only threatened him once and kept the name-calling to a minimum. He was baffled as to what could have made him change his mind so drastically; he hoped it was her. If it had been her than perhaps he wasn't too late. He just couldn't be.

_Dearest Elena,_

_there are so many things I have done wrong in my very long life. So many of them were aimed at you and I know in my heart that I never deserved the forgiveness you granted me. Yet here I am writing this letter hoping desperately that you have one more chance left for me knowing I don't deserve it. _

_When I left I left with the knowledge that my presence caused all of you so much pain, particularly to you. I knew that I didn't deserve you. It's been five years since I told myself that and I know I still don't. I can't let you go, but then I never did have you in the first place. Am I too late? I thought I had more time. _

_If I indeed am then I want to at least ease your mind on one thing. I did come for you and I am with you... always. The moment I heard the distress in your voice, I came for you. I took you to the hospital and stayed until I knew you were going to be alright. Leaving you there was agonizing, but I though that I was doing the right thing at the time. I've listened to every single message you've left me and they've given me so much more than you'll ever realize._

_I will always choose you. _

_Eternally yours_

_Damon_

It was short and he had rewritten it too many times to count. This was it though. He folded the thick cream-colored paper neatly and sealed it with wax and his signet ring. He didn't dare be late handing over the letter to Jeremy. The little punk might change his mind if he did. He broke every possible speed limit on his frantic drive to his destination.

"Your early." The Gilbert boy deadpanned once he'd swung his door open and spotted the undead boy on the other side.

He shrugged swallowing down every snarky comeback that came to mind. "Better than being late." He offered evenly as he gingerly fingered the letter in his hands.

The younger of the two rolled his eyes and huffed. "Is that it?" He questioned with a nod towards the the paper in Damon's hands. "It better be good."

Briefly closing his eyes to the world he sighed. "I'm not sure anything I can do will ever be good enough. You know I'm awful at this Jeremy." He opened his eyes again surprised to find sympathy shining in the others eyes. "It's been almost seventy-six hours since I heard from her and I'm already falling apart." He smiled sadly and handed over the letter. "Thank you for agreeing to this." He turned to leave once Jeremy held the letter.

"You shouldn't have left us." The brown-eyed boy muttered effectively stopping him in his retreat. "None of us wanted you to leave... none that mattered anyway."

He almost cracked a smile at the obvious jibe at the witch, but bit it back as he turned back towards yet another little brother he had failed. "I thought I was doing the right thing. I've never been good at knowing quite what that was. I get it wrong most of the time."

"Damn right you do." A familiar female voice chimed in soon followed by it's owners appearance. "You idiot. I could kill you." The bubbly blond huffed as she glared quite convincingly at her maker.

When his eyes flicked to the side catching a glimpse of the affectionate way the youngest Gilbert was looking at the outwardly youngest of the three he couldn't help but smile knowingly. He'd called it long before the whole Matt, Tyler and Bonnie fiascoes; he'd called it. "No you couldn't Care-Bear..." He grinned at his beautiful girl that had finally caught the eye of a guy that deserved her. "... and I'm not saying you aren't skilled enough." He winked at her and chuckled.

It instantly softened her gaze. "We're all that's left. We need to take care of each other." She glanced quickly up at Jeremy for reassurance which he granted immediately by draping an arm across her shoulders. They looked good together.

"I'm sure Alaric's taking better care of everyone than I ever could." He couldn't help but want to take at least a little bit of the credit for the both of them turning into such strong individuals. In a way he had helped raise them.. but he wasn't going to say that.

He watched the bubbly blond lean further into the brown-haired boy and snake an arm around his waist. "Well yeah, but that doesn't excuse you from bailing on us." He so called this.

Rolling his crystalline eyes he chuckled amusedly. "I think we've established that I'm an idiot and I'm sorry. Don't you worry, I'm pretty sure I'm being well punished for it." He let his head loll back as he exhaled a deep sigh. "I royally screwed things up this time."

Caroline snaked her arms around him then and hugged him tightly. "I'm rooting for you, daddy." She whispered in his ear before letting him go and moving back to lean into Jeremy again.

"You know how to find me." He said before turning on his heel and sauntering down the hall hoping there was at least a sliver of a chance that she'd at least consider hearing him out.

Predictably he didn't manage to fall asleep that night no matter how comfortable the hotel bed was or how much bourbon he guzzled. By midnight he was thoroughly piss ass drunk jumping up and down, in nothing but his underwear, on the oversized bed listening to some horrible pop-chart countdown far too loudly. That's why he never heard the beep signaling the room door unlocking or the door handle being pushed down, before the door was slowly swung open. That's also why he didn't notice the beautiful girl in the white sundress hesitantly entering and staring wide-eyed at him. In fact he didn't notice a thing until she kicked her shoes off and flung herself up on the bed next to him giggling before jumping up and down singing slightly off tune.

"'Lena?" He questioned still jumping up and down while he admired the slight changes in the brunettes appearance. He couldn't believe it. It had been a short while since he saw her up close, still, she was even more beautiful then before. Her features had matured, gone was the adolescent roundness of her cheeks. Her curves had filled out and yet her waist remained as small as it had ever been. She'd shortened her hair and let it curl in it's natural waves. He must be dreaming he deduced grasping her hands in his and gladly joining her off beat singing.

They were soon off the bed quickly emptying yet another bottle of amber liquid while they danced around the room. She still hadn't confirmed that she indeed was her, as a matter of fact, they hadn't actually uttered a word to each other. As he brought her up from a particularly low dip he couldn't stop himself... well, he didn't want to stop himself... from pulling her close and kissing her. It was a tender kiss that left them both breathless. Despite all the dreams they had shared it surprised him that she didn't try to stop him and he was thankful for that.

This was it. She didn't need any other explanation or answers than the ones he had unknowingly just given her. As he pulled away and studied her warily she made a split second decision. "I love you Damon Salvatore, don't you ever dare leave me again." Elena said before capturing his lips sealing her declaration, not needing him to say anything.

She felt him melt into the kiss, pulling her against him even tighter. Before she could blink she was being pressed up against the wall as Damon strew open mouthed kisses down the column of her neck. Twining her fingers in his hair and moaning she urged him on. His fingers made quick work of discarding her underwear.

He straightened up pulling her legs up and settling them around his hips. Before speaking he locked his blue eyes with her brown ones. "I love you Elena." He pushed into her with a groan as he watched her eyes roll back and listened to her breath hitch. Finally he'd come home.

oOo

**AN:** I love it when they're drunk and Damon insisted on ending things here so.. be good and review my lovelies. In case any of you had trouble understanding my txtmsg shorthand, here are the translations...

**UR an idiot. try hRder NXT tym (_!_). -J**

You're an idiot. Try harder next time ass. - Jeremy

**Wot wiL it tAk? -D**

What will it take? - Damon

**alot mo thN jst TLK. 5 yr.z iz alot 2 mAk ^ 4. U wer a total ==8 -J**

A lot more than just talk. Five years is a lot to make up for. You were a total dick. - Jeremy

**I didnt mean 2 hurt her o NE1 of U. whr do I stRt? -D**

I didn't mean to hurt her or anyone of you. Where do I start? - Damon

**Im cutting U som slack. wrte a letR & ill GIV it 2 her -J**

I'm cutting you some slack. Write a letter and I'll give it to her. - Jeremy

**thk U. ill brng it 2 yor plAc 2nt -D**

Thank you. I'll bring it to your place tonight. - Damon

**mAk it gud cuz f U hurt her I wiL kill U -J**

Make it good because if you hurt her I will kill you. - Jeremy


End file.
